Selling Printing Specialties to Business Men

 Selling Printing Specialties to Business Men 

    IT HAD been raining all morning, and when Johnson McCloud entered the office of a doctor in Akron, Ohio, he found the physician gloomily looking out the window at the rain. “Nasty weather, isn’t it!” commented Johnson. “A day like this is a good day to write letters to delinquent patients.” Turning from the window, the doctor nodded, moved to his desk and slumped into a chair. He waited for the doctor to say something, but he remained silent. Johnson opened his portfolio, and produced an assortment of sample letterheads. “What do you think of these?” he said, handing them to the doctor. The doctor admitted the letterheads were good. “I couldn’t use anything quite so expensive, however,” he said evasively, “there’s no need for it in this business. I use only a few cards, envelopes, bills, and letterheads and I get those from one of my patients who is a printer.” “It’s a good idea to patronize the local printers. However, I think you’d be surprised to know how little it would cost to print up your letterheads and give you a better quality. My house specializes in standard forms. We handle big runs of job stuff too, and some small runs, where we can work them in, but the prices I can quote on letterheads, billheads, cards and envelopes will surprise you.” Meanwhile, the doctor was considering the paper stock of the letterhead. His attitude was that of a man bent upon killing time, rather than that of a person keenly interested. The price, evidently, didn’t seem so much of a factor. Johnson watched him closely. He handed him an envelope. “Feel that paper!” The doctor took it and nodded. “What do you pay for your letterheads, may I ask?” inquired Johnson. “Oh, I don’t know exactly. Offhand, I’d say it wasn’t much. Two and a half, or maybe three dollars a thousand. My, but it’s raining.” Johnson ignored the doctor’s last comment and handed him a third printing sample. “Do you order in quantities of five or ten thousand?” he inquired. “Lord no! Five hundred or a thousand is about all I need.” “Fine,” said Johnson, “now, which of these sample papers do you like best? Some prefer a high-grade tinted stock; others like a heavy white paper like this. I can fix you up with this stock, a thousand letterheads and envelopes to match, with your name and address printed as on the samples in bold, modern-faced type, for $20.90—and that price includes both the letterheads and envelopes. That represents a saving of about two or three dollars on these two items. Shipped express collect from the plant. You pay me only a small deposit now and the balance when the job is delivered.” “How do I know that I’ll get this same quality printing?” the doctor demanded. “Here is the guarantee,” replied Johnson, “it covers everything. See? It’s printed on your receipt. I’ll leave it with you—it’s a part and condition of the order.” Johnson McCloud left that doctor’s office with a small order and a recommendation to three other physicians with offices close by. That day he sold $57.00 worth of printing and his commission amounted to $17.11. During the first six months at this work, Johnson’s commissions totaled $1,400. While it may seem that he must have made some rather large sales to earn commissions such as these, he claims that all of his sales were made to men who ordered in relatively small quantities. “My orders vary in size,” he said, “some being as low as $1.50, others up to $35.00 or $40.00. I’ve never had an order for more than $45.00. Commissions vary on this line, and on some jobs I make more money than on others. My efforts are concentrated on business men, but I never overlook a store, restaurant, factory, doctor, lawyer or dentist. I had some difficulty during my first two months in finding just how to approach my prospects, but I solved this problem slowly. I have found almost every prospect I call upon requires a slight variation of selling method, and that a standard sales talk or method of approaching prospects does not do the trick. There are basic fundamentals, however, that apply to every case. It is important to place samples in the prospect’s hands quickly after getting in, and keep him fingering samples throughout the interview. If you can focus the prospect’s attention on samples and keep it there, you will usually sell him.” Johnson McCloud never brings up a subject which may cause the prospect to think of anything but the sale under consideration, during the interview. Selling standard forms, letterheads, billheads, envelopes and circulars is made easy because there are a number of concerns, with special machinery, which can handle such orders at unusually low prices. The quality of such printing generally is higher than that of a local printer and the cost to the prospect is much less. These are two strong arguments which can usually be depended upon by the salesman to close sales quickly. 

Bringing the Store to the Customer 

   CHARLES GRAVES pulled his green sedan to the curb, took a package containing a dozen towels from the rear seat, and hurried to the door of the white cottage. A woman answered his ring. Graves said: “You told me, Mrs. Markham, that if these towels were the size and quality I said they’d be, you’d order other goods. And I have some real bargains.” Mrs. Markham invited Graves into the house. There she opened the package of towels and inspected them carefully. “They really are wonderful. And so cheap,” she remarked. “Certainly,” Graves returned quickly, “and you’ll find everything you buy from me is of the same high quality. Remember, Mrs. Markham, you don’t pay for anything until I deliver it and you inspect it here in your own home. You see, I operate on a small profit from my car. I don’t have the tremendous overhead a merchant has. And you know the merchant figures up his rent, light, wrapping paper, cost of fixtures, interest on money invested in the store and stock, taxes, and all that sort of thing, and adds that to the price of everything he sells. If he didn’t he wouldn’t make a dime. He’s entitled to it. But I eliminate this cost, and pass the benefit on to you in the form of bigger values. Now here’s something you’ll appreciate: Picot topped, 320 needle silk chiffon hose. Silk from top to toe. A dozen to a box at only $5.20 a box. Can you beat that?” “That does sound reasonable,” replied Mrs. Markham. The prospect feels the sheer silken material, mentally makes an effort to determine the price for each pair, and concludes it’s about forty cents or a little over. And Charlie Graves is off on a new sale! He’s been selling merchandise in this way for three years. He makes a point of offering good quality at fair prices, and does a big business. During his first six months, he made a very good living and put almost a thousand dollars in the bank. “I believe that you must merchandise to make money,” Charlie declared. “I mean by that you must be able to show value and build a sales talk to make the most out of it. It is true that I sell most items under the regular store prices and that my costs are less. My profit runs a little higher on each sale, however, than the store operator’s. That’s because I’ve been buying from wholesalers who deal in bankrupt stocks. They buy up an entire stock of bankrupt goods at a price. They sell it at small profit to themselves, and turn over their money quickly. Seldom can they supply a variety of items that would enable a store operator to stock up on a line of one item large enough to interest most store people. But they have enough high quality merchandise for small fellows like me to keep going on. My big talking point, of course, is price. “I use the ‘sandwich’ method of building up orders. When talking to a customer I ask what she is paying for, say, her husband’s socks at the local department store. She tells me. ‘I have a very fine sock that I know would please him, and the price is only $1.59 in dozen lots,’ I say. ‘What are you paying for towels? I mean the large-size Cannon turkish bath towels?’ She tells me and I go on, ‘I can sell you a package of one dozen Cannon bath towels, the large size, at $2.10 a dozen—less than twenty cents each.’ These are two low-priced items in constant demand. I don’t make much on them, but I make a good profit on most of the other items I carry. So after throwing two low-priced items out to catch interest, I whip in a profit maker. Say it’s soap. I get this hand soap, a regular ten-cent item, at one and a half cents a cake, and offer it at four for a quarter. Then I mention another profit maker, such as a house dress. After that, I mention a lowpriced leader item, and by that time the prospect has the impression that every item I have is very inexpensive. That’s what I mean by merchandising the goods.” Some of Graves’s orders run as high as $30.00, and his average is $4.75. His average profit is $1.69 an order. Graves has built up a regular route, calls on this route once every three weeks, and makes an average of twenty-three calls daily. He closes orders in twelve out of the twenty-three homes he calls upon, and his daily earnings average close to $19.00. His entire equipment consists of his stock, in which his original investment was $50, and the car he drives, which cost him $300 at a used car lot. You can build up a business as profitable as that of Graves in your own community with a small investment.